Fall is in the air

Cooler weather means pants, more playtime outside, and caramel apple suckers.

It also means more "spooky" has been added to the neighborhood.

Meet the man next door. 

Jude has to check on him every time we're outside. He pokes him, kicks at him, yells at him, then laughs.

I told him he is just a "pretend man."

In fact, he's just a pine straw man.

We have a smaller, less spookier version of the pine straw man.

Today I took him for a jump in the trampoline.

And then Jude vanished.

We found him UNDER the trampoline, giggling.

No matter how sick he is, he always finds a way to get into mischief. 

 I like this time of year. But, I'm not a big fan of pumpkin things. Mom and I made pumpkin rice crispy treats today and I just "kind of" liked them. Jude didn't mind the pumpkin though. He gobbled up two bars after his nap and still wanted more.

And everybody knows a cooler day calls for more coffee (or...just more coffee creamer). 

-Maddox

Pumpkins, Cats, Spiders...It's October!

October is SPOOKY! 

Are you afraid of cats and spiders?

Then don't come into our neighborhood. 

Because the biggest cat and spider I've ever seen are lurking right down the street. And I heard from Mom that their eyes glow at night!

Now, that is the stuff nightmares are made of.

Jude is afraid of Mom's owl and black crow, so I KNOW he is freaked out by the big black cat.

Yesterday, we took a little trip to a non-spooky place: the pumpkin patch in Niceville!

We stared at them, sat on them, smelled them, and Jude tried to throw them. He called them "balls!" but I know better. They are pumpkins! And they come in orange mostly, but also in white and green and something that looks like warts.

We met up with Yani there and then later that night she and Mom painted all the pumpkins. 

Well, except mine.

I'm going to get some sticky eyeballs and turn mine into a silly pumpkin.

(The big mama!)

Like I said, Jude hates crows. He fusses at this one, at the one below, and even at the poor owl. 

And we also found out he hates scarecrows.

Too bad he isn't as brave as me (except when it comes to the man dressed up like a dolphin at Gulfarium).

I have a lot to teach that kid!

-Maddox

Little brother is growing up.

Last weekend, Jude turned 2. 

I decided I like him a lot better now. 

His favorite things are coloring, the moon, popsicles, and the ABC Train on Youtube.

His favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?

He does not like broccoli. At all.

He loves me (a lot) and I've learned that having a brother is like having a best friend. We still fight, but I've been a lot sweeter these days.

When he hurts, I hug him and try to pick him up. I share my gum with him, let him push my ambulance, help him with his shoes, and we build castles together. 

My new attitude is paying off.

Life is more fun when we fight less!

But, ok...back to the big day.

Jude woke up to a sea of balloons. 

 He was so happy to have his own special day. He loves Curious George, so he got a giant singing monkey card. I drew a heart on it next to my name.

 For breakfast, we got M&Ms with our waffles. Then, present time! The kid racked up. He got Rody the Horse, an art easel (maybe he will stop drawing so much on the walls now), some clothes, a felt storybook, and play animals.

 His cake was French vanilla and loaded with M&Ms. He only ate the M&Ms, but I ate them AND the cake too. I don't think he knew you are supposed to blow out the candle at the END of the Happy Birthday song. Before we even sang "happy," he took care of business.

For dinner, we ate our favorite at Panera (broccoli cheese soup), then we celebrated with some ice cream and a trip to the park at Destin Commons.

It was a long day, but full of fun!

And it wasn't even over yet.

The next morning, we met our buddy Ava at the Gulfarium. 

We stared at all kinds of fish, sea horses, sharks, penguins, and dolphins.

Jude was grumpy though.

He was sweaty, tired, hungry and getting sick. He didn't care a thing about the dolphin show, but it was pretty awesome when the dolphins jumped high and splashed the crowd. 

Ava loved Sebastian.

She thought he starred in the 'Little Mermaid,' but I don't think he did.

But what do I know? I've never seen the 'Little Mermaid.' 

Lunch was quick and Jude was bad. He kept escaping our table at Angler's.

And then he passed out in the car.

As you can see, he racked up some more.

 And I think he has a crush on Ava. He still has the card she gave him in his room.

-Maddox